Dillard should blame crossovers, not polls

I have always believed that state Sen. Kirk Dillard is a good man and would have been a definite improvement over Gov. Pat Quinn for the state of Illinois. However, his letter on April 1 causes me to reassess his capabilities. He blames Mr. Rauner's war chest and "faulty polls" for his recent defeat in the primary election, agreeing with Opinion Editor Jim Slusher's column on the matter.

It's surprising that neither of these gentlemen noticed the elephant in the room. The chief reason the primary was so close was the significant crossover vote from the Democratic Party, caused by government unions begging their members to vote for Dillard. I have a good friend who is a retired teacher and a devout Democrat. He told me that he hated asking for a Republican ballot on Election Day, but he did it to vote against Rauner. Many of those votes for Dillard were actually union votes against Rauner, thereby creating the "faulty polls."

I remember disagreeing with Jim Slusher's editorial when I read it. Perhaps it was this editorial that prompted Dillard to write his letter. All it did was to remind the electorate of his defeat, and to paint himself as a sore loser. The Herald unwittingly emphasized the futility of the issue by publishing Dillard's letter on April 1.

Jim Osebold

Arlington Heights

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